Hammer of the Witches

By Jason Wallace

October 13, 1518; Somerset, England: Eight women are accused of witchcraft and heresy. Using the Malleus Maleficarum, Magistrate Peter Haystead and Father Samuel seek their own brand of justice against the women. This religious fanaticism is plenteous for torture and condemnation of such women, though it is the action of the leaders that creates the very witchcraft that they condemn. Their creation, Abigail Woodhall, thirsts for the blood of all bearing descent from the magistrate and claims minions for this bidding, bringing about the roots of the witchcraft of Salem, Massachusetts nearly two centuries later.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jason Wallace
• Release date: Apr 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311988089

Jason Wallace

Make sure to check out my other poetry at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jasonwallacepoetry. There are books on Amazon that are not shown here because they are offered through Kindle Unlimited. There are also books shown here that are not available on Amazon because they are free at all times. http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Wallace/e/B00JG37PVO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1399103321&sr=8-1 Jason Wallace is an Indie author from the Midwest, aspiring to bring his works to the masses and through this, bring joy into their lives. He has been writing for more than 20 years, mostly poetry, but since 2011, he has been writing novels and short stories, in various genres. Come check out my new page and see what's going on. https://www.facebook.com/thepageofauthorjasonwallace

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Hammer of the Witches

By Jason Wallace

Smashwords Edition

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Hammer of the Witches

Copyright © 2015 by Jason Wallace

Chapter 1

October 13, 1518, the day of infamy for a small village deep in Somerset, England, lauded many rings of the church bell. It was Sunday, the Lord’s Day, as set by Emperor Constantine so many centuries prior, though, if it had been in keeping with the real Sabbath, it would have been Saturday. Much was quiet, save for the dinging and ringing and clanging of the bell, set high in the tower of the local church. England, though ruled by the twenty-seven-year-old Henry VIII, was still a staunchly Catholic nation. The MALLEUS MALEFICARUM, Maleficas, & earum hæresim, ut phramea potentissima conterens, or, simply, the Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of the Witches, applied specifically to females) had been, by and large, condemned by the Church, though it was the Papal Bull 'Summis desiderantes affectibus' that allowed for the book to be written in the first place, as the Catholic Church felt that witches were not being sought and thoroughly prosecuted. It was Pope Innocent VIII that admitted a theory that men and women could have sexual relations with demons, astounding many but adding to the general hysteria regarding witches. It, a book detailing how one must deal with those that were accused of witchcraft or any other forms of sorcery, was, according to the Pope, not to be used. It was never fully sanctioned by Rome and would never be, but despite the Pope’s ruling, its use could not be stopped, particularly by royal courts.

For the people of Somerset, some of them being the predecessors and even ancestors of those that would, a century later, flee to Massachusetts and form the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, the Pope’s authority was largely suspect and, in some instances, much discarded, particularly in the case of dispelling witchcraft. Somerset lay far in the southwest of England, within and without the Duchy of Cornwall, as it has always held lands belonging to the titleholder of the Duchy but is not a part of the lands known as Cornwall, this part of that place nestled just outside of the Quantock Hills, a great distance from the King or the reach of his mighty proclamations, not that he, in all of his revered wisdom, said much on the enforcement of papal doctrine. Henry himself was already beginning to question most issuances from the Pope, especially those regarding marriage and divorce. Were others to disobey Rome, it would not be a terrible grievance in the eyes of the young king.

On this October day, seven women accused of witchcraft were to be purified. The Malleus Maleficarum, or, in its broader sense, the Malleus Maleficorum (applied to both sexes) was the instrument for seeing such trials to fruition, trials by torture and death. The craze that swept Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, was nothing before unseen. It was a tradition carried over and passed down through generations of the overzealous.